"In his first book, now a classic manifesto, Cornel West revitalizes a black theology of liberation by adopting the social analysis of progressive Marxist thought. Through retelling the story of the Western philosophical tradition as well as providing a critical overview of black thought, West provides a theoretical framework for interpreting the African American experience.

His goal for integrating the tradition of prophetic Christian thought with Marxist social criticism is the transformation of the structures of the world through political action."--BOOK JACKET.